[tri-med] Re: Request for help, please

Great post Michelle thanks for playing devil's advocate.

Last week at patchwork, I mentioned that Tess was going into hospital 
on the 25th to have her heart catheterisation (next day). One woman, 
who is still working as a theatre sister, said "but why would you do 
that, why are they doing it". I was actually speechless for a couple 
of seconds, before responding, "because we love her, and this is to 
see if a drug will help with her pulmonary hypertension". I can tell 
with my friends at patchwork, those who understand our love for Tess, 
and those who obviously think she is of no value to society. The 
negative ones either keep a stony silence, or ask questions like the 
theatre sister. Whereas the positive ones, often ask after her health.

It is only in the last 10 years or so, that disabled people are taken 
out for outings to shopping malls etc, in the hope that it will 
encourage more folk to become "accepting".

In the house I grew up in, my Dad would talk about Down syndrome 
kids/adults, always with a wrinkled nose, as if a bad smell came from 
them. He discouraged me from going out with a local schoolteacher, 
who sang in the same church choir we did, just because he had a Down 
Syndrome sister. As a result I viewed them with a sort of fear. This 
was back over 50 years ago, and I'd hope that the general public is 
more tolerant in 2007.

A few years later after we moved to Australia, one of our close 
friends was a woodwork teacher at a Brisbane Down Syndrome sheltered 
workshop; through him, we came to know the value of the kids/adults 
he taught. We met many of them; I was hugged off my feet once by one 
exuberant young man. I can still hear Fred's broad Scottish accent 
when he said "Oh these are great kids, they have much to offer the 
world". Fred's example helped me to overcome my fear.


We can't belt them over the head to make them see our point of view. 
You know that saying about "walk a mile in her shoes". I guess we 
have all had some reservations about disabled children, before we 
were faced with it head on. I think how you react to the challenge is 
the thing that matters. Tess completely swayed me over, and also 
meeting other disabled kids here in Australia, and hearing day to day 
stories from our list friends. Sadly, I think the majority of people 
just DON'T GET IT.




At 06:10 AM 20/10/2007, you wrote:

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Kim Ihlenfeldt" <kimihlenfeldt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> > OK, so how do we change this?
>
>Now THERE'S the 50 million dollar question!
>
>   > So if people feel that it is pointless to spend money on saving kids who
>will not be "productive people", why do they feel it is OK to spend money on
>drug addicts who continuously go back to their addictions, alcoholics who
>have to have a liver transplant because they killed their liver,
>  >pedophiles, rapists, killers, etc?

Jocelyn, loving Nanna to Tess with Trisomy 18 aged 10 & 1/2 years

                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
                  Families Helping Families On-line

Other related posts: